NASA -
Tests on Earth to Help Free Spirit Rover on Mars: Live Webcast, Chat

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Mission News

In this view from from July 15, 2009, the rear wheels of a test rover at JPL are turned toward the left, and the left-front wheel is turned toward the the right. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Full image and caption
The team that operates rovers on Mars is using a test rover in southern
California to assess maneuvers the Mars rover Spirit might use to get out
of soft, loose soil where its wheels have sunk hub-deep. A live videocast
and chat from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., will give
viewers a chance to ask questions of rover team members working to get
Spirit rolling again.

The live event will air on the "NASAJPL" channel available on Ustream Web TV
at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasajpl on Thursday, July 23, beginning
at 3 p.m. PDT (6 p.m. EDT and 2200 UTC).

Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, landed on Mars in January 2004 for what were
planned as three-month missions to study sites on opposite sides of the planet.
Both are still active and returning streams of scientific information. Spirit
has not driven since May 6, 2009, when it had become partially embedded in the
soil. To minimize the risk of worsening Spirit's predicament, operators decided
to conduct a series of experiments with a test rover before driving Spirit again.

Viewers may submit questions over Ustream or via Twitter. Twitter users may send
their questions to @NASAJPL using the hashtag #FreeSpirit. In addition, if you are
unable to take part in the live chat, you may submit questions in advance to
chatquestion@jpl.nasa.gov and watch the archived video at a later time.